Mother to Son

Read below our complete notes on the song “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes. Our notes cover Mother to Son summary, themes, and analysis.

Introduction

‘Mother to Son’ is a song composed by an African American poet and journalist Langston Hughes. It is a well-known dramatic monologue. It was printed in a magazine called The Crisis for the first time in the year 1922. It was later included in Hughes’ book titled The Weary Blues published in 1926.

Langston Hughes played a key role in the Harlem Renaissance. It was a 1920 artistic movement in Harlem, near Manhattan. The neighborhood of Harlem swamped with migrated African Americans who opted to settle there for work and jobs. Consequently, many writers, poets and intellectuals related to black culture evolved. They wanted to introduce a unique kind of literature that can highlight the ups and downs of African Americans. They also saw literature as a source of combat against racism.

The Harlem Renaissance is considered as the most significant art movement in black literature in the US.  Hughes poems “Mother to Son, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” and “I, Too,” have been considered as crucial in the progress of literary tradition of the black.

‘Mother to Son’ is closely related to the hardships faced by the African Americans in the early twentieth century. During this era, racism and discrimination against the black community were rampant in the USA. Separate school, living areas and working places were allocated for the black people. They were not allowed near the white community members. NAACP was a civil rights organization that evolved for the defence of the black community basic rights.  Hughes was also a huge advocate of black rights.

His poem ‘Mother to Son’ indicates many hindrances and risks that African Americans face in their daily lives due to racism. The poem suggests that the black community can beat such difficult times through perseverance, spirit, and unity.

Mother to Son by Langston Hughes Summary

The poem is a conversation amid a mother and son. The mother initiates the conversation saying that her life has not been easy. She has faced various hurdles and difficulties in her life. She describes the various impediments in her life as tacks, splinters and torn boards. She says that the stair, which she is trying to climb, is not carpeted which implies that her life path had not been a luxurious journey.  Nevertheless, her perseverance enables her to keep on struggling in life. Even when she is unable to see in the dark, she is still resilient. At the end of the poem, the mother commands her son never to lose hope. She instructs him to keep on climbing the stairs and never think about going down in life. She reminds him that he must always think about the hardships faced by his mother and keep on fighting against his exhaustion.  

Themes in Mother to Son

Racism

Racism appears as a major theme in the poem. The dialect of the speaker indicates that she belongs to an illiterate African American community. The staircase is a realistic depiction of a black woman in a racist society. The screws, pieces, naked floorings, and shady passages indicate extreme poverty. Through such images, Hughes manages to highlight the injustice and discrimination towards the black race in American society.

The poverty of the mother does not indicate that she is indolent. The reader can see the determination and strong morals of the woman. However, her poor circumstances indicate that she is provided with very limited opportunities because of her race.   

Perseverance and courage

The poem is a piece of advice from a mother to her son. She advised him to endure and show persistence in order to survive in the American racist society. The comparison of the two staircases in the poem indicates the widely different circumstances of the two races. The pathways of the white people are like a crystal stair that indicates ease and comfort.  While the black people have to overcome dark elements and dangerous situations in order to survive. However, the mother says that with courage and determination, the less privileged class can achieve their goals.

The mother shows a very realistic picture of the African Americans. The speaker encourages her son to never lose hope and fall into depression. She says that their life will always be difficult as compared to other races. She does not give false hope to her son. She warns her son about various dangers and challenges. She shares her life story with her son in order to reassure him that he will be able to succeed with keen determination and courage.

Despair and hope

The theme of despair and hope is enforced in the poem through the symbols of “dark” and “light”. The mother in the poem admits that some stages of her life had pushed her into darkness. She had no hope in her life. Her difficult circumstances had managed to put her in depression and despair. However, she continued to struggle and eventually overcame that phase of her life.

Mother as a role model for the child

The poem shows the strong bond between a mother and a son. The mother uses her own life experiences in order to pave a better path for her child. She presents her life as a role model for her son so that he can grow up as a better human. She does not want to sugarcoat the harsh world and make her son weak. Therefore, she narrates the harsh situations and anecdotes from her own life, as she wants her son to reach his goals through strong determination and courage.

Mother to Son Poem Analysis

Lines 1-7

In line two of the poem, the poet says that the life of the mother ‘aint’t been a  “crystal stair”. “ain’t” is a colloquial form of language and its use by the mother indicates that she is uneducated.  The phrase “crystal stair” in line two of the poem implies the privilege and influence enjoyed by the white community. Crystals are charming, fashionable, and stunning. Thus, it suggests that the life journey of the white community is easy and without certain hurdles.  Due to their superior status in society, they have more prospects to achieve their respective dreams. However, people belonging to the black community are not provided with any chances to fulfill their dreams.

The life of black people is very hard and complicated and they have to struggle a lot in order to fight for their goals. The words “Tacks”, “splinters”, “boards torn up” symbolize hardships in life. Tacks represent nails, while splinters are tiny pieces of planks that could physically harm the person who steps on them. Boards torn up might signify uneven grounds. The word “Bare” indicates limited gears. The mother says that her path had been uneven, hard and bare. She had to make her way in life with inadequate furnishings.

Lines 8-13

In spite of all the hardships mentioned above, the mother says that she did not lose motivation to move forward in life. She wants to instil the same inspiration and enthusiasm in her son. She says that “All the time” her life had been a constant struggle. However, she still had been “a-climbin’ on” the figurative staircases in her life.

She uses the word landings to describe the various stages of her life. The mother tended to turn corners without any fear of the unknown. She was not afraid to venture in the dark. She wants her son to be brave like her. She had always faced bad situations with a strong front. The run-down stairs illustrate the harsh living circumstances of the black community under the oppressive rule of the White Americans.

This poem depicts racism and its effect on the life of African Americans. Nevertheless, this poem suggests a universal message. The poem conveys a message of resilience and perseverance in the face of difficulties that can be applied to people of all ages and epochs.  

Lines 14-20

In the final line of the poem, the mother again speaks with her son directly. The word “boy” indicates that the mother wants the undivided attention of her son. She states that he should never lose hope and motivation to move forward in life. Even if circumstances turn ugly and he faces adverse conditions, he must never think about backing down. She advised him never to move a step back. His fear and hesitation can aggravate his problems. He must learn to endure and persist in uncertain circumstances.

The mother warns him that the steps are full of splinters and broken boards; therefore, he must learn to tread carefully so that he does not fall. ‘Fall’ here literally means plummeting down the steps. However, it can also be related to the Biblical “Fall”. In the context of the poem, it might imply subsiding criminal activities. The mother does not want her son to resort to unfair means in order to survive. The last three lines reiterate that his mother has always withstood her hard circumstances and she is “still climbin’”. This shows her indomitable strength.

Setting of the poem

The poem lacks a specific setting. The speaker is conversing with her son. The formal tone of the conversation indicates that the place where they are talking is comfortable and familiar to them. 

Point of view

The mother in the poem is anonymous; however, it seems that she represents the hardworking African American women of America. The poem is not just a piece of advice from a mother to her son. It embodies a story of determination and courage. It reflects the endless struggle of the black community in a racist white society. The poem contains a universal message of hope and resilience which can be applied to all the communities of the world.  The language, diction and the literary techniques employed by Hughes ensnare the attention of the reader.

Language

The poem is a dramatic monologue written in dialect of the African American community. The language and diction of the poem is colloquial. The language choice of the poet depicts the linguistic habits of the African Americans. The poet uses figurative language to emphasize his ideas. 

 Structural Analysis of the poem

The style of the poem is free verse and lyrical. It is written in a single stanza of twenty lines. As the structure of the poem is in free verse, therefore, there is no regular rhyming scheme. However, there are certain illustrations of rhyme in the poem as the word “stair” in the second line corresponds to “bare” in the 7th line. The metrical pattern of the poem is irregular, yet the line “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” indicates trochaic meter.

The language used in the poem is idiomatic. The colloquial quality of the language used can be observed in the line “Cause you find it’s kinder hard.” The language style indicates that the speaker of the poem is not much educated and belongs to a rural area.

Literary Devices used in the Poem

Alliteration

Alliteration can be defined as the reiteration of consonant sounds in closed placed words. The use of alliteration can be discerned in the line, “Don’t you set down on the steps.” The “d” and “s” sounds in the above-mentioned line show alliteration.  Langston Hughes does not heavily rely on rhyme or alliteration in his poem. It seems that the poet purposely evades such poetic devices which create a pleasant effect in order to reinforce the harsh circumstances of the speaker.

Anaphora

 Anaphora is the reiteration of a term or phrases mostly at the start of consecutive expressions, or clauses. For instance, the poet has used  “And” at the start of lines 4,5, 6 and lines 10,11,12. “And “is repeatedly used at the start of these lines in order to highlight the adversities and various challenges in the life of the mother. The repetition of “And” highlights the never-ending sufferings of the mothers. Each “and” in the poem introduces a new impediment in the mother’s life. Similarly the line, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” is twice repeated to accentuate the rough life journey of the mother.

Hughes utilizes anaphora in order to show the son what he should not do in life. For example in the lines, 14 and 15 “don’t” is twice used. This exemplifies that in case of adversities, we must never lose hope and fall back. The poet employs Anaphora in his poem to show the readers that although life is full of obstacles and challenges, however, we must always fight through and never think about giving up our dreams.

Enjambment

Enjambment can be defined as the continuity of an utterance minus any pause at the end of a line or stanza. Enjambment is used in the following lines in the poem,

“Don’t you set down on the steps

’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.”

Line 15 continues into the next line without any pauses. It expresses the emotions of the mother. It emphasizes the message of the mother, who wants her child to face all hard obstacles with undue determination. 

Allusion

An allusion is a literary device used by poets. It indirectly refers to a person, place or thing outside the confines of the text. The phrase “crystal stair” alludes to Jacob’s step ladder as mentioned in the Holy Bible. The staircase can be considered as a spiritual allusion.  Jacob witnessed a staircase, which led to heaven in the Biblical story. Similarly, the crystal stair refers to the idea of abandoning worldly troubles. The allusion used in the poem can also refer to the notion that after overcoming hardships, people can reach heaven.

End-Stopped Line

End-stopped lines recur in the poem. Most of the lines are end-stopped. Enjambments are rarely used by the poet in the poem. End-stops play a major role. They help the poet in describing the seriousness of the hurdles encountered by the black woman. For example, each line from 3-6 defines a serious hurdle that the mother had witnessed in her life. The jagged nails and splinters and the missing steps are mentioned in a different end-stopped line. The reader pauses at each end-stop and contemplates about the nature of the difficulty faced by the narrator. All of these End-stops stress complexity and brutality of the speaker’s situation.

The end-stops in lines 17-19 indicates the principle, self-confidence, and spirit of the mother. The end-stops in these lines emphasize the determination of the speaker. These lines highlight the strength of the woman and leave no room for self-doubt. The meaning of end-stops changes in the poem. Initially, they were utilized to highlight the various dangers in the speaker’s life; however, the lines in the end of the poem indicate resilience in the face of adversities.

Assonance

The recurrence of vowel sounds in the same sentence is termed as assonance. The sound of /o/ in the line “So boy, don’t you turn back” indicates assonance. It indicates the optimistic and courageous nature of the mother.

Consonance

The recurrence of consonant sounds within the same sentence is named as consonance. The sound /t/ and /r/ in the line “Where there ain’t been no light” indicates consonance. Similarly, ‘And reachin’ landin’s’ also contains consonance.

Imagery

Imagery is another poetic device that conjures images for the readers so that they can perceive them with their five senses. For instance in the line, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal stair”, the image of a crystal stair has been created in the reader’s mind. So that the reader can feel the difference between the life of people belonging to the white community and that of the black community. “And places with no carpet on the floor” creates a picture of harsh circumstances faced by the narrator in the poem.

Stressed and unstressed syllables (Trochee)

A trochee is a metrical foot in the line of a poem that involves a stressed syllable closely trailed by an unstressed syllable. In the poem, this pattern of a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable lingers continuously. For example in the line, “Life for me ain’t been no crystal”.

Refrain

Refrain is a part or verse of a song or a poem which is repeated after some interval within the poem. Hughes uses refrain in his poem. For instance the line, “life for me ain’t been no crystal stair” reappears twice in the poem with exactly the same expressions. Therefore, it can be said that this line is a refrain. 

Symbolism

Symbolism is the use of specific symbols to denote concepts and perceptions. The literal meaning of the word is different from the figurative meaning. The symbols used in the poem are described below:

Staircase

The staircase is an extended metaphor utilized by the poet to narrate the hurdles in the life of a black woman. It represents the destitution of the mother. The metaphorical staircase of the mother has nails, shards, holes, and bare steps. It denotes the various challenges in the mother’s life.

Crystal Stair

The poet uses the “crystal stair” which appears in lines 2 and 20 as a symbol. It signifies opportunity, authority, and the benefits relished by the white community. The poet compares the life of the black woman with a dark, rickety and battered staircase. While the “crystal stair” denotes the smooth pathway of the white people. It signifies that white people have their life adorned with glamor and ease while the black mother’s path has always been dangerous and dingy.  It can be stated that “crystal stair” refers to the hypocrisy and double standards of American society.

Darkness

The poet employs darkness as a symbol of bleakness and desolation. The word darkness is used in the 12th line of the poem. Here the narrator talks about the nature of her journey. She says that some paths of her life have been dark. It symbolizes the nature of the challenges faced by the mother in the poem. At times, such dangerous situations had demoralized the mother and she had almost lost hope. However, with strong determination, she pushed herself out of that depressive phase of life and continued fighting against all odds in her life.

Light

Light symbolizes hope in the poem. In line 13, the narrator says that sometimes she had “no light.” It means that she had lost the will and hope of survival. The symbol “light” coincides with “dark” to express the same meaning, which entails that at some point in her life, the mother had experienced despair and desperation. The mother is therefore aware of the emotional and psychological challenges in the life of the black community. However, she emphasizes that with perseverance, they can overcome such complications.

Langton Hughes has utilized literary devices such as metaphor, imagery, anaphora, and symbolism to emphasize his message. The use of such devices connects the poet with the readers. The various poetic devices used in the poem strongly showcase the struggle of the mother and her sacrifices in her life. The reader connects with the character of the mother and admires her perseverance, endurance and resilience in the face of all adversities.